Drinking device



22, 1939' M. A. VAN DER SPEK 2,170,282

' DRINKING DEVICE Filed Oct. 19, 1936 v 2 She ets-Sheet 1 .5 I l 5' Z 17 3 10 1 1a .19 5 3 ja /{Z112 6 f INVENTOR.

Z BY W M ATTORNEYS Aug. 22, 1939. M. A. VAN DER s| EK {3,170,282

DRINKING DEVICE Filed Oct. 19, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .Zlqj

jg w I I j 4 Z 70.

INVENTOR.

MGMIEMMJM ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 22, 1939 2,170,282

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DRINKING DEVICE Marinus A. Van der Spek, Manhattan Beach, Calif.

Application October 19, 1936, Serial No. 106,332

11 Claims. (01. 65-61) This invention relates broadly to drinking dehingedly mounted on the upper end of the hanvices, and particularly to devices adapted for dle 4 and is itself provided with an arm 6 adaptserving canned beverages directly from cans. 'ed tobe manipulated by the thumb of the hand An object of the invention is to make it possiholding the handle 4 to opened or closed position.

.5 ble to conveniently and comfortably drink The lid is hingedly attached to the handle '5 canned beverages directly from the can. 4 by a pair of more or less flexible arms I having Another'ob-ject of the invention is to provide inwardly directed short stub pins 8 thereon which a drinking device which is readily adaptable project into hinge holes 9 provided therefor in either for use in the customary manner, in which the opposite sides of the upper end of the han- 10 the beverage is contained directly in the vessel or dle' l. The arms 1 have sufiicient resiliency to 10 for use with canned beverages in which the bevpermit them to bend outwardly and disengage the erage is contained in the can and the can conpins 8 from the holes 9 to facilitate removal or tained in the drinking device. attachment of the lid 5 for a purpose to appear Another object of the invention is to provide later. a can supporting and can piercing device having As heretofore described the tankard shown in 15 a cup-like portionfor presentation to the lips of Figs. 1 and 2 is very similar to the conventional the drinker, the can contents pouring through tankards and may be used as such for dispensing said cup-like portion from the can. beer or other beverages, the beverage being Other and more specific objects and features poured from any source into the tankard and 0 of the invention will become apparent from the then drunk from the tankard. However, the indetailed description, to follow, of several specific terior of the body member I is dimensioned to embodiments of the invention. havesubstantially the same diameter as standard In the drawings: sized cans for dispensing beer or other beverages Fig. 1 is a side elevation of. a tankard in acbut thebody ismade higher than such cans so 5 cordance with the invention; that when a can is positioned within the body I, 5

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the tankard as shown in Fig. 3, it fits snugly against the side shown in Fig. 1; walls of the tankard but the top of the can is Fig. 3 is a sectional view through the tankard spaced some distance below the top of the tankshown in Figs. 1 and 2, with an attachment posiard. The upper part of the interior of the body tioned thereon for use with a canned beverage; member I, above a can positioned therein, is 30 Fig. 4 is a detail view, partly in section, taken adapted to receive a can opening attachment [0 in the plane 44 of Fig. 7; having a pair of apertured can piercing elements Fig. 5 is an elevation viewwith the cover rell thereon adapted to penetrate the top of a can moved of the can piercing and dispensing atpositioned in the tankard and communicatethe tachment shown in Fig. 3; interior of the can with the interior of the mem- 35 Fig. 6 is a sectional view through a tankard ber 10, the latter, in the embodiment shown in employing a can dispensing attachment of diifer- Fig. 3, constituting a cup having side walls l2 ent construction from that shown in Fig. 3; and a. bottom wall I3 which are imperforate ex- -'Fig. '7 is a cross section'taken in the plane cept for openings Min the bottom wall which 4 'l'! of Fig. 6-; communicate with the openings of the can pierc- 4.0

"Fig. 8 is a bottom view of a can piercing and ing elements H. The can piercing elements H dispensing element of different construction from in the embodiment shown in Figs. 3 and 5 are that shown in Fig. 6; and round and are adapted to be surrounded with Fig. 9 is a detail vertical sectional view showgaskets I5 which, when the member ID is in posiing the piercing and dispensing element of Fig. 8 tion, are compressed between the bottom wall 13 45 in 1308113011 0 a c n. of member 10' and the top of the can to seal Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 the tankard therein therebetween and prevent escape of the can condep-icted comprises a bodymember I similar to tents into the space between the can and the a conventional tankard adapted to receive and body I. 2

directly contain a beverage or to receive a can The member II] is provided with an outwardly 50 containing a beverage. The body I, as depicted, extending flange IE on its upper edge, this flange has an ornamental base 2 and decorative flanges being continuous with the side wall I2 and being 3, although these are not in any sense essential rounded at its edges to constitute a smooth surparts of the invention. The body also has a ha'nface for lip contact, the flange being placed to d1e4 of conventional design and a lid 5 which is the lips to drink exactly as the upper rim of a 55 tankard would be placed to the lips if the beverage were being drunk directly from the tankard.

To facilitate forcing the member Ill into seating position with the flange I6 resting upon the 7 upper edge of the tankard, which necessitates the forcing of the penetrating elements II through the can, a. lever action is provided in the embodiment shown in Fig. 3. Thus the tankard body I is provided with a fulcrum member I! positioned slightly above the edge of the body I directly opposite the handle 4, this fulcrum;-

member IT, as shown, consisting of a small loop or bail. The flange I6 on the member III is provided with a short extensionarm I8 on one side which is dimensioned toslip under the fulcrummember I! on the tankard. Opposite the arm I8 the flange I6 is extended into a handle I9 which, when the member ID is in seated position, extends alongside and outside of the handle 4 on the tankard partly enclosing the latter as shown in Fig. 3. Adjacent the lower,.or outer end, the side walls of the handle I 9, which is hollow or trough shaped over this portion, are extended inwardly as indicated at 20 in'Fig.'5 to slip over and grip the tankard handle 4, thereby retaining the handle I9 and the member Ill in the position shown in Fig. 3.

In operation, after an unopened can has been inserted into the tankard body I, the arm I8 is slipped under the fulcrum member I! and then the member I0 revolved into place about the fulcrum I! as a pivot by pressing downwardly on the handle I9, thereby forcing the penetrating members II into the upper end of the can and then the lips or side walls 20 on the handle I9 clamp over the handle 3, locking the member I0 into the position shown in Fig. 3. The entire assembly can then be picked up bygrasping the handles 4 andslfl and the contents of the can drunk from the member II].

It will be observed that the penerating members II are positioned on opposite sides of the member II! so that when the tankard is tilted for drinking one of the openings is adjacent the lips of the drinker and the other on the opposite side. This permits the contents of the canto flow readily through the opening I4 adjacent the lips 'of the drinker while air enters the can through the other opening I4 to take the place of the liquid contents as the latter leaves the can,

Before the member It can be applied to the tankard in the manner described, the lid 5 must of course be removed from the handle 4.- However, this lid can then be reattached to the handle IS, the latter having holes 9 therein to receive the hinge pins 8 on, the lid. The holes 9' are so positioned that when the lid is attached to the handle I9 it will fit snugly down on the upper flange E6 of the member II]. By merely shifting the lid 5 from connection with the tankard handle 4 to the attachment handle I9, the tankard can be converted from condition for use with draft or bottled beverages to condition for dispensing beverages directly from the can.

The modification of the invention shown in Fig. 6 is fundamentally the same as that shown in Figs. 3 and 5 except that the lever construction for forcing the can opening attachment into position has been eliminated. Corresponding parts in Fig. 6 bear the same reference numerals as Figs. 1 to 5 except for the additionof the suffix a. It will be observed that the tankard body la is provided with bayonet slots consisting of downwardly extending slots 22 and circumferentially extending slots 23 connecting with the lower ends of the downwardly extending slots 22. The can opening attachment Illa, is provided with a pair of pins 24 adapted to cooperate with the bayonet slots in the tankard body. The outer surface of the flange I6a is knurled, as indicated at 25, to make it easier to grip. The handle I9 and arm I8 of Fig. 3 are eliminated from the construction shown in Fig. 6. Likewise, the lid 50. is shown permanently attached to the handle do. by an adjustable-hinge consisting of a pair of members 26 secured to the lid 5a adapted to straddle the handle 4a and having vertical slots 21 therein for receiving a pin 28 which is rigidly secured in the handle la and extends therebeyond on either side into the slots 27. The function of the slots 2'! is to permit the lid 5a to automatically adjust itself to fit either upon the flange Ifia of the can opening attachment IIIa. or directly on the upper edge of the tankard body Ia.

When being used to dispense beverage directly from the can, the modification shown in Fig. 6 is operated as follows: First, an unopened can of beverage is placed in the tankard body Ia and then the member ma. pressed directly downward into the tankard. body to cause the penerating members Ha to penetrate the top of the can. Of course before the member Illa is placed in position, thepins 24 have to be aligned with the vertical slots 22. When the member Illa has been forced all the way down into full seating position, it is then rotated a short distance to carry the pins 24 into the horizontal slots 23, thereby looking the member Ifla into position.

It is not essential that the members Ill or Illa,

be provided with solid bottom walls l3 and I3a, as shown in the drawing, provided means is inserted to effect a seal about the can dispensing openings to prevent leakage of the can contents into the interior of the tankard body I or Ia.

Referring to Figs. 8 and 9 the can opening attachment Iflb is provided witha large opening in the bottom surrounded by and defined by the circular side walls I21), and inwardly and downwardly can-opening knives 29 are anchored to the side wall I2b in any suitable manner, being shown formed integrally therewith in Figs. 8 and 9. The lower edge of the wall I2bis then provided with an annular recess 30 to receive and retain a rubber gasket 3|, which, when the at- Z tachment IUb is placed in position on the can aligns with the upper wall of the can exterior of the openings created in. the can by the knives 29.

Although the'invention has been explained by describing several specific embodiments thereof, it is understood that many variations from the particular structure shown may be employed without departing from the invention, and the latter is to be limited only as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A drinking device for use with a can containing a beverage, said device comprising a container interiorly shaped and dimensioned to receive andsupport said can and a detachable top for said container, said top comprising a tubular member having a depth and diameter of the same order of magnitude as the depth and diameter'of a drinking cup and having a smooth upper rim portion like the rim of a drinking cup for presentation to the lips of the drinker like the rim of a drinking cup and having can piercing means extending below said tubular member for piercing the top of a can in said container in response to placing the said top on said container, said top having resilient sealing means on the lower end of said tubular memberfor effecting a seal between the latter and the upper end of the can, said can-piercing means being positioned inside of said sealing means.

2. A drinking device adapted for use with a can containing a beverage comprising a container interiorly shaped and dimensioned to receive and support said can, the container fitting snugly about the side wall of the can but extending thereabove, and a detachable top for said container, said top comprising an open topped tubular member adapted to fit within the upper portion of said container above a can therein, and having a smooth upper rim portion like the rim of a drinking cup for presentation to the lips of a drinker like the rim of a drinking cup and having can-piercing means extending below said tubular member for piercing the top of the can in said container in response to the placing of said top on said container, said top including resilient sealing means on the lower end thereof for effecting a seal between the top and the upper end of the can, and the can-piercinig means being positioned inside of said sealing means.

3. A device as described in claim 2, with an outwardly extending flange on the upper edge of said tubular member adapted to rest upon the upper edge of the container when the top is in position.

4. A device as described in claim 2, in which said tubular member is dimensioned to fit snugly within said container, with cooperating pin and bayonet slot means on said top and said container means, whereby said top may be locked to said container by pressing it into the container and rotating it through apart of a revolution.

5. A device as described in claim 1, with coopcrating means on said top and said container for detachably retaining the top against the upper end of a can in said container, the top being cup-shaped with a bottom wall adapted to rest adjacent the upper end of a can in the container, and a tubular side wall extending upwardly from the bottom wall, said bottom wall having an opening therein, can-piercing means extending below said opening, and a gasket means below said bottom wall and surrounding said opening for sealing between said bottom wall and the can.

6. A device as described in claim 2 with an outwardly extending flange on the upper edge of said tubular member adapted to rest upon the upper edge of the container when the top is in position, a lid for said container, hinge means for securing said lid to said container for swinging movement from open to closed position, said hinge means comprising a pintle on said lid and a member on said container having a vertically extending slot for receiving said pintle, whereby said lid is self-adjustable vertically to rest either directly on the upper rim of the container, or on the flange of said top member when the latter is positioned in the container.

7. A device as described in claim 2, in which said container has a handle secured to the side thereof and projecting therefrom, and a fulcrum member secured on the side of said container opposite the handle, said detachable top having an arm projecting from the side for engaging said fulcrum member on the container, and a handle projecting from the other side, so shaped and positioned as to lie against the handle on the container when said detachable top is fully seated in said container.

8. A device as described in claim 2, in which said container has a handle secured to the side thereof and projecting therefrom, and a fulcrum member secured on the side of said container opposite the handle, said detachable top having an arm projecting from the side for engaging said culcrum member on the contain-er, a handle projecting from the other side, so shaped and positioned as to lie against the handle on the container when said detachable top is fully seated in said container, and interlocking means on the two handles for releasably binding them together.

9. A device as described in claim 2, with an outwardly extending flange on the upper edge of said tubular member, said flange being adapted to rest upon the upper edge of the container when said top is in position, a lid shaped and dimensioned to fit on the upper edge of said container, and on the flange of said tubular member and hinge means for detachably, hingedly mounting said lid at will either on said container or on said tubular member.

10. A device as described in claim 2, with an. outwardly extending flange on the upper edge of said tubular member, said flange being adapted to rest upon the upper edge of the container when said top is in position, a lid shaped and dimensioned to fit on the upper edge of said container, and on the flange of said tubular member, hinge means for detachably, hingedly mounting said lid at will either on said container or on said tubular member, said hinge means consisting of a pair of resilient spaced apart hinge arms on said lid, each arm having an inwardly directed stub pin, and means on said container and on said tubular member, respectively, having hinge recesses therein for receiving said stub pins.

11. A device as described in claim 2, in which said container has a fulcrum member on one side thereof and said detachable top has an arm projecting from one side thereof for engaging said fulcrum member, and a handle projecting from the side opposite said arm, with means for V 

